Air dam for a datacenter facility

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus, and system in which an air dam is incorporated into an air ventilation stream of a datacenter to control the temperature of an interior space of the datacenter. The datacenter may include a raised floor in which the ventilation stream is injected through perforations within the raised floor. An air dam may be positioned at an entry region of the under floor plenum to obstruct the flow of air from a supply air plenum. The air dam is used to create a positive pressure across the raised floor at a substantially constant pressure distribution.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/041,351 filed Sep. 30, 2013, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/709,429, titled “An Air Dam For ADatacenter Facility”, filed Oct. 4, 2012, the contents of which areincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

In general, an embodiment relates to building a datacenter facility.Information Technology operations are a crucial aspect of mostorganizational operations in the western world. One of the main concernsis business continuity. Companies rely on their information systems torun their operations. If a system becomes unavailable, companyoperations may be impaired or stopped completely. It is necessary toprovide a reliable infrastructure for IT operations, in order tominimize any chance of disruption. Information security is also aconcern, and for this reason a data center has to offer a secureenvironment, which minimizes the chances of a security breach. A datacenter must therefore keep high standards for assuring the integrity andfunctionality of its hosted computer environment. Telcordia GR-3160,NEBS Requirements for Telecommunications Data Center Equipment andSpaces, provides guidelines for data center spaces withintelecommunications networks, and environmental requirements for theequipment intended for installation in those spaces.

Putting a large number of electrical components into a single enclosedspace, such as a room, creates a ventilation problem as the area must bemaintained at a desired operating temperature, while having a largenumber of heat sources. Traditional systems may create custom ducting todirect supply air into desired locations within a data center facility.Alternatively, through floor or ceiling supply paths may be created byforcing air in through grated floor or ceiling sections. However, thepresent designs still suffer from localized heating and cooling causedby inadequate air distribution through the space.

SUMMARY

An air dam for a datacenter facility is described. The air dam is usedwith under floor air movement systems rather than traditional exclusiveductwork air movement systems. The air dam is located under a raisedfloor building such as a data center and is typically located under thewalls forming a room in the building in the flow path of forced air inthat building. Additional localized air dams may be placed andorientated by high heat centers in a room to direct airflow to thatlocalized hot spot. The air dam can be located between the slab of thefoundation and the support structure for the raised floor.

The air dam works as an obstruction in the forced air flow path to causethe air passing through the opening between the top of the air dam andthe bottom of the wall or raised floor to slow down the air entering theunder floor space. The air on the opposing side of the air dam from theincoming air stream experiences a more even pressure distribution. Theair dam also creates a positive air pressure over the air dam, thusreducing and eliminating negative pressures areas in the data roomfloor. Traditionally, people do not put obstructions in the forcedairflow path because the thought is that the amount of airflow reachinga room will be restricted. However, two factors come into play: First,the even pressure distribution and positive pressure distributionpermits a more unrestricted use of the data room floor plan withoutregarding to localized cooling or lack of cooling. Second, the lowerunder floor velocity of the incoming air creates the more even pressuredistribution, which actually permits a higher amount of air to beinjected through the raised floor than would be achieved throughtraditional systems using the same source air and energy requirements.

The air dam can replace 1) traditional ductwork and 2) louvers' or ventsin the panels/tiles of the floor. The air dam can also work with thesesystems as well. The air dam may be fixed and anchored in the foundationor can be attached to an actuator. The air dam may be made of a heaviermaterial such as a metal and anchored to the foundation slab. The airdam may also be made of a lighter material and connected to an actuatorto work as a damper.

The air dam may be a solid block of material stretched across the slabor a block of material with perforations in a pattern to cause thedesired airflow effects. In an instance, the air dam may have, forexample, a height of 18 inches stretching from the slab of thefoundation to create the desired opening between the top of the dam andthe raised floor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings refer to embodiments of the design in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of an initialmodular datacenter facility constructed with a set of building modulesof different types of functionality to form an entire datacenterfacility having a standardized pre-approved architectural design andlayout.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an exemplary datacenter facilityincorporating an exemplary air dam. FIG. 2A is a cut away perspectiveview of the interior of the data room, under floor plenum, and supplyair plenum, while FIG. 2B is a two-dimensional front view of thecut-away perspective of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary geometry of an exemplary air damconfigured with respect to the data room, raised floor, and supply airplenums.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary air flow and corresponding grosspressure regions of the source air through the supply air plenum, pastthe air dam, and into the under floor plenum.

FIGS. 5A and 5B provide an illustrated gray scale pressure distributiontaken at a horizontal cross section of the data room at the raisedfloor. FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary pressure distribution forembodiments incorporating an air dam according to embodiments of thepresent description, while FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary pressuredistribution for conventional systems without an air dam.

FIG. 6 illustrates the pressure distribution of the supply air throughthe raised floor in an exemplary data center including electricalequipment.

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary raised floor panels including a pluralityof perforations to permit the air to enter the data center from theunder floor plenum.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of a method of cooling adata room using embodiments described herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary diagram of the air dam offset from theexterior side of the interior wall by 0-5% of the length of raised floorlength.

While the design is subject to various modifications and alternativeforms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example inthe drawings and will herein be described in detail. The design shouldbe understood to not be limited to the particular forms disclosed, buton the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of thedesign.

DETAILED DISCUSSION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth,such as examples of specific heights and dimensions, named components,connections, types of offices, etc., in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well knowncomponents or methods have not been described in detail but rather in ablock diagram in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presentinvention. Thus, the specific details set forth are merely exemplary.The specific details may be varied from and still be contemplated to bewithin the spirit and scope of the present invention. Example processesfor and apparatuses to provide a truly modular building datacenterfacility is described. The following drawings and text describe variousexample implementations of the design.

In general, the system includes a datacenter with a floor and a raisedfloor elevated from the floor and an interior wall and an exterior wallin which cooling air is supplied to an interior space of the datacenterby injecting the cooling servers air through perforations within theraised floor. Accordingly, an under floor plenum under the entire raisedfloor and a supply air plenum connected to the under floor plenum andpositioned adjacent the interior wall is used to supply the air to theinterior space of the data center. Embodiments as described hereininclude an air dam positioned at an entry region of the under floorplenum to obstruct the flow of the cooling air from the supply airplenum in order to cause a constant airflow through the perforations ofthe raised floor for an entire area of datacenter housing the computersystems. The air dam is used to create a positive pressure across theentire raised floor and create a generally constant air pressure at theraised floor such that the air is supplied into the interior spacesubstantially evenly.

The air dam causes an obstruction in the cooling air supply pathway thatpermits a constant airflow through the entire area of the data room in adata center that has a raised floor system. The generally even pressuredistribution results in a constant airflow through the perforated tilesmounted on the raised floor, and thus into all of the areas of the dataroom. This even airflow distribution allows a freedom of placement ofelectrical equipment, including the servers and storage equipment,within/inside the room. The electrical equipment can be arranged andplaced in any area of the room in any organizational fashion.

The size and shape of the air dam may vary. An embodiment of the air dammay have an ‘L’ type shape with the height of the L section beingroughly half the height of the raised floor. The size and shape of theair dam causes a constant pressure through the perforated tiles whenentering into the data floor to cool its electronic equipment. The angleof the vertical section of the air dam may vary between 45° and 120°,with a preferred angle of 90° or less, measured from the floor on theexterior side of the air dam. The placement of the air dam may be offsetrelative to the wall starting that room by a given distance of betweenapproximately 6 to 18 inches. The size and shape of the air dam isformed to cause a turbulent airflow effect underneath the raised floorand then through the perforations in tiles on a surface of the raisedfloor in order to create the constant pressure through the perforatedtiles.

The offset placement tends to control where the constant air pressureand thus air flow in cubic feet per minute (CFM) begins. The constantairflow caused by the air dam through the under floor system to theentire room of the data floor tends to minimize or eliminate hotspotsfrom occurring inside the room. This allows greater freedom of placementand arrangement of electrical equipment inside the data room than everbefore. Additionally, a layout of electrical equipment can be alteredand changed in the future without having to potentially change any HVACducting, HVAC cooling units, etc. and potentially with only a minimalamount of switching around or adding of perforated tiles to affect theairflow in that area of the data floor room. The even air pressuredistribution caused by the air dam in the under floor plenum, whichresults in a constant airflow through the perforated floor system,allows an electrical equipment layout in the data floor with evensmaller dimensions for hot and cold aisles than standard configurations.For example, 3 foot or less hot aisles and/or 4 foot or less cold aislesmay be achieved with embodiments described herein. Thus, the placementof electrical equipment such as servers, storage devices, etc. can befreely placed in any geographical area in the data room rather thanhaving to set up the equipment in a prescribed/pre-designed manner.

The rooftop HVAC cooling units and cooling system overall perform betterto consume less electrical energy to supply a given amount of coolingfor a given amount of electrical consumption by the electrical equipmentcontained inside the data floor room. For example, due to the constantairflow and consistent pressure, a 10,000 square-foot data room can fit500 racks of electrical equipment in multiple layouts and arrangementsinside that data room floor space of 10,000 feet. The same rooftop HVACunits and air dam placement can be used to support those multipleconfigurations of electrical equipment within the data floor of the datacenter.

An exemplary embodiment may be used in a datacenter facility.Information Technology operations are a crucial aspect of mostorganizational operations in the western world. One of the main concernsis business continuity. Companies rely on their information systems torun their operations. If a system becomes unavailable, companyoperations may be impaired or stopped completely. It is necessary toprovide a reliable infrastructure for IT operations, in order tominimize any chance of disruption.

An exemplary datacenter facility that may incorporate features of theair dam described herein may comprise a modular datacenter facilityconstructed with a set of building modules of different types offunctionality to form an entire datacenter facility having astandardized pre-approved architectural design and layout. An exemplarymodular datacenter facility is described in the co-pending applicationU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/792,948, filed Mar. 11, 2013,incorporated in its entirety herein.

An exemplary modular datacenter facility has all instances of aparticular type of building module with approximately the same floorplan and architectural design. An initial set of building modules can bebuilt upon a parcel of land, and then as needs of space and additionalcapacity of the modular datacenter facility increase, then at a futurepoint in time additional building modules of the different types can berapidly added to the initial set of building modules. The buildingmodules of the different types use one or more connecting corridorsarchitected into at least a first type of building module andcorresponding aligned doorways between both building modules tointerconnect two building modules adjacent and abutted to each other.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of an initialmodular datacenter facility constructed with a set of building modulesof different types of functionality to form an entire datacenterfacility having a standardized pre-approved architectural design andlayout.

The modular datacenter facility is constructed with a set of buildingmodules of different types of functionality to form/make up an entiredatacenter facility having a standardized pre-approved architecturaldesign and layout. Each type of building module in the set has aspecific collection of functionality associated with that type ofbuilding module. Each type of building module, such as ahardened-structure building module 106, a data-floor building module104, a power-center building module 108, and an office-support buildingmodule 102, has a specific set of functionality associated with thatbuilding module. Each building module of the different types is apre-engineered, standardized building block containing architecturalfeatures to allow easy configuration and integration with the otherbuilding modules that form the modular datacenter facility. Allinstances of a particular building module with that type offunctionality will have approximately a same floor plan andarchitectural design. Small changes can be made to the interior of agiven building modules design but in general, the floor plan andarchitectural design remain the same. Components making up each of thebuilding modules 102-108 are prefabricated and shipped to the parcel ofland.

The modular datacenter facility houses computing systems in a data-floorbuilding module 104. The computing systems includes servers and storagedevices housed in hot and cool zones, as well as routers and switchesthat transport data traffic between the servers as well as transporttraffic to a world exterior to the modular data center facility. Themodular datacenter facility also includes redundant or backup powersupplies, redundant data communications connections, environmentalcooling controls, and security devices.

The data-floor building module 104 is the principal module of thedatacenter as it provides the hardened environment for the computingsystems that includes the server room. The data-floor building module104 is approximately 10,000 square feet and works in unison with thepower-center building module 108 to provide one MW of UPS power at a 2Nredundancy. This power-center building module 108 is prefabricated offsite and it includes everything in the design electrical system. Eachpower-center building module 108 includes Switchgear, an UninterruptablePower Supply, Power Controls, is associated with a data-floor buildingmodule 104. The data-floor building module 104 structure also supportsthe N+1 mechanical system that features airside economization anddelivers high-efficiency cooling via two air chases along the walls ofthe data-floor building module, the main datacenter, and a 36-inchraised floor system.

The data-floor building module 104 is the heart of the datacenterenvironment as it contains the computing systems. The data-floorbuilding module 104 supports racks of servers having densities varyingin power consumption from 2 kW to 20 kW without containment wallsbetween the racks of servers of varying power consumption density. Thedata-floor building module 104 has a multitude of 80′ steel joistshorizontally connecting parallel sections of wall of the building moduleto eliminate a need for support columns being located on the 10,000square feet of raised 36-inch floor that supports the computing systems.The joists creating an open floor space ensures that users of thedata-floor building module 104 will have a maximum degree of flexibilityto accommodate a variety of potential server rack configurations in thehot and cold zones of the data-floor building module 104. The raised36-inch floor houses the computing systems as well as creates a dualplenum for air supply with cooling supply air being supplied underneaththe raised floor as well as a ceiling plenum for hot air return.

The data-floor building module 104 containing the computing systems alsohas a cooling system on its roof that features airside economization. Inan example embodiment, the data-floor building module 104 uses packagedair handlers to control the air temperature and moisture of the datafloor environment. The modular datacenter's mechanical infrastructurecomprises four 120 Ton Trane Intellipak units with outside aireconomization capabilities in a N+1 configuration. These roof top unitshave variable frequency drives that increase the efficiency of the unitin the entire load spectrum. These packaged air handlers are installedin the roof and they support full outside air economization.Additionally, the power-center building module 108 is supported by two(2) 15 Ton Trane packaged air handlers.

The building modules of the different types 102-108 use one or moreconnecting corridors architected into at least a first type of buildingmodule and corresponding aligned doorways between both building modulesto interconnect two building modules adjacent and abutted to each other.

Initially, all four types of building modules 102-108 will be built ontoa given geographic plot of land. At a later/future point in time,expansion can occur and building module types can be added to support anew customer on the same existing parcel of land or expand for a currentcustomer. In general, the new expansion can then choose to try to shareone or more of the previously fabricated and installed building moduletypes 102-108 or build its own instance of that building module type.

The initial datacenter built in a parcel of land will include the set offour building modules of different types of functionality: thedata-floor building module 104; the hardened-structure building module106; the office-support building module 102; and the power-centerbuilding module 108. The hardened-structure building module 106 housesthe building integrity structure of the truly modular datacenter.

These four building modules make up the truly modular datacenterfacility and it is approximately 20,680 square feet. The Truly ModularDatacenter consists of the above four (4) modules connected together,working in unison. This module synergy provides a unique facility layoutthat results in a highly efficient datacenter.

Each building module type in the set of building modules of differenttypes of functionality is architected and formed as a totally separatedbuilding that is interconnected to another building module via theconnecting corridor that 1) wraps around a data floor containing theservers and storage devices housed in hot and cool zones in a data-floorbuilding module 104 and 2) interconnects to a power-center buildingmodule and an office-support building module 102 via the aligned doorsbetween these building modules.

The modular datacenter facility is illustrative only of an exemplaryenvironment for the disclosed air dam for datacenters. Embodiments asdescribed herein may be used in any datacenter environment to evenlydistribute air to a datacenter room. For example, an air dam may beincorporated into any datacenter in which air is circulated using anunder floor delivery system. This configuration typically uses a raisedfloor in which air is directed from panels of the floor. An air sourcemay deliver the air to the floor panels from units positioned within orunder the floor directly or directed from an external air source. Theexternal air source may be positioned above, for example on a roof orceiling, or below, for example in a basement or lower floor, the room ofthe datacenter, or may be within or through the walls of the datacenter.Alternatively or additionally, the air dam may be incorporated into aceiling delivery unit that is operated similar to the under floordelivery system, but uses ceiling paneling, for example through adropped ceiling, instead of the floor paneling. Either or bothembodiments may be incorporated to take advantage of the naturalcurrents induced by air temperature differentials, i.e. warm air risingover cool air.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an exemplary datacenter facilityincorporating an exemplary air dam. FIG. 2A is a cut away perspectiveview of the interior of the data room, under floor plenum, and supplyair plenum, while FIG. 2B is a two-dimensional front view of thecut-away perspective of FIG. 2A.

The data room 202 includes an interior space for positioning racks ofelectrical equipment including servers and storage devices. The dataroom 202 may accommodate any arrangement of electrical equipment, fullyutilizing and/or maximizing the entire available floor space. Althoughnot necessary, the data room 202 is an open cavity without supportingcolumns or air obstructions other than the electrical equipment andsupport structures associated with the electrical equipment. The dataroom 202 may be partitioned into sub-spaces by separating structuresenclosing one or more electrical equipment providing sub-sectionsassignable to different persons, organizations, security levels, datausages, etc. The separating structures may be elevated to a height abovethe electrical equipment to enclose the electrical equipment alongvertical sides of the equipment. In an exemplary embodiment, theseparating structures are open along a top area of the electricalequipment, and thus do not impede airflow of the upper portion of thedata room. As such, the data room 202 may include an area proximate theceiling that is generally unobstructed through a central portion of thearea. The separating structures, for example, may extend to a height of¾ of the room height or less, such as approximately ½ of the roomheight.

Air is delivered to the data room 202 through a raised floor 204creating an under floor plenum 206. Air may be delivered from HVAC unitshoused on a roof top of the datacenter and directed through supply airvents 212 in the ceiling of the data room 202, through a supply airplenum 210 along one wall of the data room 202, through the under floorplenum 206, and through the raised floor 204. The supply air plenum 210may comprise an open section within at least one wall of the data room202. The supply air plenum 210 may extend along a majority, asubstantial portion, or the entire length of one or more walls. Thesupply air plenum is between an interior wall 216, extending between theceiling of the data room 202 and the raised floor 204, and an exteriorwall 218 and provides access to the under floor plenum, between theraised floor 204 and the floor. The raised floor 204 may be composed ofperforated tiles 214 to permit the air to enter the data room 202 fromthe under floor plenum.

An air dam 208 may be incorporated along an edge of the under floorplenum 206. For example, an air dam 208 may be positioned between thesupply air plenum 210 and the under floor plenum 206. The air dam 208 isan obstruction in the airflow between the supply air plenum 210 and theunder floor plenum 206. The air dam 208 may be any general shape toobstruct the airflow as it transitions directions from generallyvertically along the wall to generally horizontally along the floor. Forexample, the air dam may be a planar surface of generally equalthickness along the projection, such that the projection is generallyrectangular in cross section. The thickness of planar surface may alsobe tapered or reverse tapered toward the upper edge, such that theplanar surface is thicker or thinner along a bottom portion of thesurface than toward a top edge of the surface, such that the surfacescreates a generally triangular or trapezoidal cross section. The tapermay also be non-linear such that the surface is non-planar, concave, orconvex toward the incoming air stream. In an exemplary embodiment, theair dam 208 is a planar or generally planar projection from the floortoward the raised floor perpendicularly oriented from the floor atapproximately half of the height between the floor to the underside ofthe raised floor.

The air dam 208 is positioned at an entry region of the under floor airsupply plenum 206 to obstruct the flow of incoming ventilation air intothe under floor air supply plenum 206 to cause a constant airflowthrough perforated tiles mounted on the raised floor. The placement ofthe computing equipment, including servers and storage devices, isallowed to be freely placed in any geographical area in the data roomrather than having to set up the computing equipment in prescribed hotand cold zones.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary geometry of an exemplary air dam 208configured with respect to the supply air plenum 210 along the fullwidth of one vertical wall of the data room 202 transitioning to anunder floor plenum 206 between a perforated floor and an actual flooralong the bottom of the entire data room 202. The exemplary air plenum210 has a width (w) from the exterior wall 218 to the interior wall 216,while the exemplary raised floor is raised by a height (y). The raisedfloor 204 has a length (L) from the interior wall 216 to an opposingwall of the data room 202. Exemplary dimensions include a supply airplenum width (w) and a raised floor height (y) of between 12 to 48inches, preferably between 30 to 42 inches, and more preferablyapproximately 36 inches. These dimensions are not necessarily the same,but can be.

In an exemplary embodiment, the air dam 208 is an angled bracket thatincludes two planar sides generally angled from each other. The firstside secures the dam to the actual floor and is positioned parallel tothe floor along one surface, while the second side projects from thefloor at an angle θ into the under floor space. The air dam 208 may beangled from the floor from between 45-135 degrees and more generallybetween 45-90 degrees. The angle of the air dam preferably positions thetop edge of the air dam equal or closer to the exterior wall 218 than abottom portion of the air dam that projects into the under floor space(i.e. less than or equal to 90 degrees when measured from the exteriorside of the air dam).

The top edge of the air dam projects into the under floor space of theunder floor plenum 206. The air dam 208 creates a barrier or obstacle tothe airflow as it transitions from the supply air plenum 210 to theunder floor plenum 206. The air dam is positioned to obstruct theairflow and generally reduce the velocity of the airflow entering theunder floor plenum 206. Accordingly, the top edge of the air dam ispositioned between 25% to 75%, and preferably between 40% to 60% andmore preferably about 50% of the height of the under floor plenum 206from the actual floor toward the raised floor. Therefore, an air passageis created over the top of the air dam 208 between the air dam and theraised floor 204. The air dam has a maximum height (h) measured from theactual floor toward the raised floor. The air dam 208 height (h) may beapproximately 12-24 inches, preferably 16 to 20 inches, and morepreferably 18 inches.

The air dam 208 may be positioned at an offset from the exterior side ofthe interior wall 216 toward the under floor plenum 206, i.e. toward theinterior of the data room 202 or away from an exterior wall 218. In anexemplary embodiment, the air dam 208 may be offset from the exteriorside of the interior wall 216 by 0-5% of the length of raised floorlength (L), and more specifically from 0.5 to 1.5% of the length of theraised floor. (See FIGS. 2A and 9) Alternatively, the air dam 208 may beoffset from the exterior side of the interior wall 206 by a distanceequal to or less than the width (w) of the supply air plenum 210 and/orthe height (y) of the under floor plenum 206. Preferably, the air dam208 is offset (x) by approximately ¼ to ½ of the air plenum width (w)and/or air plenum height (y). In an exemplary embodiment, the air dam208 may be offset from the exterior side of the interior wall 216 by 0to 24 inches, 6 to 18 inches, or preferably 10 to 14 inches.

In an exemplary embodiment, the air dam may be actuated, such that theincident angle may be changed dynamically. For example, the air dam mayinclude a hinged section controlled by a louver system, such that ananchor portion may be positioned and secured against the floor. Anobstruction portion may extend upward into the under floor space,creating the obstruction to the incoming air. The obstruction portionmay be hinged to the anchor portion, such that a variable angle may beachieved between the anchor portion and the obstruction portion. The airdam may then incorporate an actuator or controller to change the angleof the anchor portion with respect to the obstruction portion.Embodiments may also include an obstruction portion variably positionedwith respect to the floor without the anchoring portion or with adifferent configuration of the anchoring portion. The controller and/oractuator may be used to orient the obstruction portion to a desiredangle after installation of the air dam into the data center. Thecontroller and/or actuator may be used at a time after installation toreconfigure the orientation of the obstruction. The orientation may bechanged, for example, if the supply air source is changed, such that adifferent amount or pressure is supplied to the data room. The air damorientation and relative height can be altered to optimize itsconfiguration based on changes made to the room or components, includingsubstituting or exchanging components, adding or reducing components,reconfiguring equipment layouts, changing perforated tiles, tileconfigurations, or altering the raised floor height. The actuation maybe manual, such as moving a hinge through a racketing locking system, orautomatic such that the air dam may include an automated controller totransition the dam to a desired inputted orientation. The actuation maybe mechanical, such as a hinge, ratcheting hinge, locking hinge, orpneumatic, etc. The orientation and position of the air dam may also becontrolled in other ways besides orienting an angle of a surface of thedam. For example, an obstruction portion may be hinged, telescoping,piecewise/modularly attachable, or otherwise extendible such that avertical height may be altered without changing the incidence to theincoming air stream.

In an exemplary embodiment, the air dam may be configured to permiteasily configurable orientations, such that the incident angle andrelative height can be easily manipulated during installation of asingle air dam. Accordingly, a single designed air dam may beincorporated into multiple data center facilities regardless of raisedfloor height, room dimensions, etc. The configurable dam may include alock such that once the dam is oriented and positioned as desired, thenthe position is locked, such that the orientation does not change duringuse. The lock may be permanent, or may be releasable, such that the airdam may be reconfigured upon changing one or more components and/orconfigurations of the data center. The air dam may also be sectionedsuch that different portions may be actuated or orientated based on thedesired design parameters of the room.

The air dam may be made of one or more plastic, metal, carbon, polymer,composites, or combinations thereof. The air dam should be sufficientlyrigid to maintain is shape and orientation against the force andpressure of the incoming air stream.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary air flow and corresponding grosspressure regions of the source air through the supply air plenum 210,past the air dam, and into the under floor plenum 206. The density ofdots generally corresponds to the relative pressure distributions of thedisclosed regions. The pressure zones are illustrative only, as thedistribution of pressure between each region generally transitions moresmoothly than shown, and outside of the under floor plenum may be morevariable depending on the air patterns.

As shown, air enters the supply air plenum 210 at a first pressure andvelocity and generally travels evenly and generally vertically down thesupply air plenum 210. Once the air reaches the bottom of the plenum,the air transitions directions toward the under floor plenum 206. Theair essentially backs up against the air dam 208, the floor, and theexterior wall, creating a localized region of higher pressure. The airthen flows over the top of the air dam 208 and creates an air tumbleeffect immediately adjacent the air dam 208 on the under floor side ofthe air dam, away from the exterior wall. The air generally circulatesin the region of the air tumble effect such that a generally higherpositive pressure is maintained at or near the raised floor, while areduced or variable pressure may be detected adjacent the dam and nearthe floor. Outside of the air tumble effect region and across a majorityor substantial portion of the raised floor, the pressure in the underfloor plenum 206 is generally maintained at a constant pressure. Thepressure, for example, may vary across this region outside of the airtumble region by 0.01 inches water or less, and more preferably by 0.005inches water or less.

The air dam 208 is configured and positioned to create a generally evendistribution of pressure in the under floor plenum across the entiretyof the raised floor. Alternatively, embodiments as described herein maybe used to control the pressure distribution across a majority of orsubstantial portion of the raised floor. For example, the pressuredistribution at the raised floor on the under floor plenum side of theair dam may be controlled for generally constant pressure. Accordingly,approximately 90-100%, and preferably 95-100% of the floor lengthexperiences constant pressure distribution of the injected air. Theportion of generally constant pressure may be measured across the entireraised floor. Generally, even distribution of pressure is understood tobe a pressure distribution more homogeneous than that achieved withoutan air dam. For example, the desired pressure distribution across theraised floor is maintained at or above 0.04 inches of water, andpreferably between 0.04 to 0.07 and more preferably between 0.05 and0.06. Accordingly, the pressure distribution across the raised floor mayvary in exemplary embodiments by 0.04 inches of water, and morepreferably by 0.02 inches of water across the entire raised floor. Thepressure distribution across a majority of substantial portion of theraised floor may vary by 0.01 inches of water or less and morepreferably by 0.05 inches of water. Embodiments as described herein mayachieve a positive pressure distribution across the entire raise floorwith a pressure variation of less than 25% of an average pressure acrossthe raised floor, and more preferably of less than 20%, 10%, or 5%.

It is also desired to maintain a positive pressure across the entirefloor such that the cool air supplied from the supply air source isdistributed over and into the entire floor space. Pockets of negativepressure may arise in conventional under floor systems. Negativepressure at the raised floor may actually draw heated air from the dataroom into the supply air plenum, thereby pre-maturely heating theincoming air. In traditional systems, negative pressures may be detectedat the entry into the under floor plenum 206 from the supply air plenum210, of between −0.01 to −0.022 inches water. Positive and negativepressure is used to indicate the relative pressure of the air at theraised floor, such that a positive pressure creates a pressure forceinto the data room, while a negative pressure creates a pressure forceout of the data room.

Embodiments as described herein may achieve more efficient distributionof air into the data room. For the same amount of energy to supply anincoming air source at a given velocity and/or pressure, the pressureachieved within the data room without the air dam is substantiallyreduced. For example, for the same source velocity and pressure, the airpressure across the raised floor may be improved by 2-3 times. Thus,pressures of only 0.02 to 0.03 inches water may be achieved withcontemporary systems without an air dam, while pressures of 0.06 to 0.07inches water may be achieved with the same source supply conditions witha system incorporating embodiments described herein.

FIGS. 5A and 5B provide an illustrated gray scale pressure distributiontaken at a horizontal cross section of the data room at the raisedfloor. The solid shading generally indicates a positive pressure while,with the higher pressures indicated by the darker shading. Dottedshading generally indicates negative pressure with the denser dotsindicated lower pressures (greater negative pressures). FIG. 5Aillustrates an exemplary pressure distribution for embodimentsincorporating an air dam according to the present description. FIG. 5Billustrates an exemplary pressure distribution for conventional systemswithout an air dam.

In Region A, FIG. 5A illustrates a high pressure area in the supply airplenum 210 between the exterior wall 218 and the exterior side of theair dam 208. The corresponding Region A of FIG. 5B is contained withinthe supply air plenum space only. Exemplary pressures within Region A ofFIG. 5A may be generally at or above 0.1 inches water, while thecorresponding pressure in Region A of FIG. 5B is between 0.015 and 0.025inches water. The increased pressure of FIG. 5A is created by the airdam backing up the incoming air stream into the under floor plenum 206.FIG. 5A then has a small Region A1 corresponding to the air passing overthe top of the air dam.

In Region B, the air enters the under floor plenum. In the configurationof FIG. 5A, with the air dam, the air undergoes a tumbling effect as itcascades over the dam. The pressure immediately adjacent the air dam atthe raised floor is therefore maintained at a positive pressure at oraround that of the remaining raised floor (i.e. Region C describedbelow). The pressure is likely at least 50% of the remaining raisedfloor pressure. The corresponding Region B of FIG. 5B, without the airdam, shows pockets and areas of negative pressure (indicated by thedotted areas). As the air hits the floor and changes directions from thevertical supply air plenum to the horizontal under floor plenum, the aircan create gaps or voids at the raised floor immediately adjacent theinterior wall. These gaps therefore create negative pressure areas suchthat air from within the data room may be drawn into the under floorplenum. The pressure associated with the air tumble effect, Region B, ofFIG. 5A can be, for example, approximately 0.04 inches water, positive.The pressure of Region B of FIG. 5B can be −0.022 inches water (theinterior dense dots of Region B) to −0.01 inches water (the less densedots of Region B) and transition to the room pressure with 0.0015 incheswater (the white areas of Region B).

Region C is the area of the raised floor, excluding the portions ofRegion B. With the air dam, the pressure distribution of Region C isfairly constant varying by less than 20% and preferably by less than10%, and more preferably by less than 5%. As shown, the pressure ofRegion C is approximately 0.06+/0.01 inches water. The correspondingRegion C of FIG. 5B varies along its length. The pressure is at amaximum on the side opposite the supply air plenum. Because of thevelocity of the air entering the under floor plenum and the path aroundthe interior wall, the air travels across the under floor plenum untilit encounters the opposing wall. The opposing wall then slows the air.As the pressure builds, the air is redirected across the under floorplenum upward through the perforated floor. Therefore, the pressure isgreatest opposite the supply air plenum and can reach pressures ofapproximately 0.02 inches water. The pressure is less toward the supplyair plenum and is even negative at the Region B areas. The pressure canvary by at least 50% or more. For example, the maximum pressure ofRegion C of FIG. 5B at the opposing wall of the supply air plenum mayreach 0.02 to 0.025 inches water, while the pressure adjacent the supplyair plenum is around 0.0015, and reaches negative pressures of up to−0.022 inches water within the Region B transition.

FIG. 6 illustrates the pressure distribution of the supply air throughthe raised floor in an exemplary data center including electricalequipment. As shown, the even pressure distribution across the entiredata room raised floor permits the entire floor space to be utilizedwithout concern for localized hot or cold areas. Accordingly, a lot morespace efficiency may be achieved and a lot more freedom for equipmentlocation may be realized.

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary raised floor panels 704 including aplurality of perforations 702 to permit the air to enter the data centerfrom the under floor plenum. The raised floor has a pattern ofperforations 702 in tiles 704 laid out on a top surface of the raisedfloor in which a plurality of perforations 702 are consolidated topermit air to pass into the cold aisles of the computing equipmentarranged in rows within an interior space of the datacenter. Thepatterns having a fewer amount of perforations 702 in areas correspondto hot aisles of the computing equipment. The floor panels 704 may beuniform across the data room raised floor, or may be tailored to aspecific layout of electrical equipment within a data room. In anexemplary embodiment, the perforations 704 are configured to inject airinto the data room, in which the electrical equipment is oriented inrows. The electrical equipment may be configured such that ‘hot’ and‘cold’ aisles are created by the air inlet/outlet of the individualdevices. The perforations may be positioned or may be more dense alongthe cold aisles, such that the cooling supply air is injected into thedata room at the air let side of the electrical equipment. The supplyair then traverses the electrical equipment, maintaining a desiredtemperature, and ejected into the hot aisle of the data room.

The floor panels may vary, for example 704 a and 704 b depending on thedata room equipment layout. For example, the perforations may be used tocompensate for the lower pressure imposed immediately adjacent the airdam. Because of the reduced pressure, additional perforations, or adenser concentration of perforations may be used to provide an evendistribution of air into the data room. Therefore, the floor tiles, andthe respective pattern, location, and density of perforations may beused to compensate for or reduce any variation in air circulation intothe data room caused by the under floor pressure; electrical equipmentlocation, configuration, and orientation; or air flow obstructions, suchas for example, support columns within the data room.

The perforations may also be used to create and impose a desiredvariation in the injected air circulation. Because of the substantiallyeven under floor pressure, the perforation pattern and density shoulddirectly correlate to the air injected into a room. Therefore, specificpressure measurements do not have to be taken before designing aperforation pattern to compensate for the pressure distribution to thenimpose the desired injected air pattern into a room. Instead, a desiredpattern and amount of air distribution into a room can be configured andimplemented through a direct correlation with the pattern and densitydistribution of perforations within the floor tiles.

The data room may also include a lowered ceiling designed to extract thehot air rising from the electrical equipment. The lowered ceiling mayalso include perforated tiles configured to withdraw air from the dataroom. The perforations, similar to the raised floor tiles, may beconfigured to achieve a desired extraction of air from the data room.Therefore, the perforations may be uniform across the data room, or maybe designed depending on the data room electrical equipment layout. Forexample, the perforations may be similar to those of FIG. 7, butoriented above the ‘hot’ aisles such that the used air exiting theelectrical equipment, and caring the extra heat of the electricalequipment may be immediately extracted from the room.

The air dam positioned at an entry region of the under floor air supplyplenum is used to obstruct the flow of incoming ventilation air into theunder floor air supply plenum. The air dam causes a constant airflowthrough perforated tiles mounted on the raised floor. A placement of thecomputing equipment, including servers and storage devices, is allowedto be freely placed in any geographical area in the data room ratherthan having to set up the computing equipment in prescribed hot and coldzones.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of an exemplary method ofventilating a datacenter facility. First, in step 802, an air dam may bepositioned and oriented within the under floor plenum within adatacenter. The positioning and orientation may include offsetting theair dam from an interior wall of the data room, actuating or orienting ahinged or dynamically positionable air dam to achieve a desiredorientation, angle, and height, or securing or locking the position andorientation with respect to a floor of the datacenter. In step 804, airmay be forced into a data room of the datacenter facility through asupply air plenum under a raised floor of the data room. In step 806, apressure of the air at the raised floor may be evenly distributed acrossthe data room by passing the air over an air dam at the entry to underraised floor supply air plenum. The air may be supplied to the interiorspace at a positive pressure distribution across the entire raise floor,and a pressure variation of less than 20% of an average pressure acrossthe raised floor. At step 808, the interior space of the data room ismaintained at a desired temperature or cooled by passing the air throughperforations within the raised floor and into the data room. Theperforations within the raised floor may be configured or positionedsuch that a desired airflow pattern is created within the interior ofthe datacenter.

The air may further be forced into a primary supply air plenum along aspace within a vertical wall of the data room, where the primary supplyair plenum is connected to the under raised floor supply air plenum andoriented perpendicular thereto. The air dam may then be positioned in atransition region between the primary supply air plenum and the underraised floor supply air plenum such that a positive relative pressure ismaintained across all of the perforations in the raise floor. Inparticular, the air dam may be placed within the transition region underthe raised floor such that the air dam is offset toward the interior ofthe datacenter from the vertical wall of the data room by less than halfof a width of the primary supply air plenum within the vertical wall.The height of the air dam may be positioned such that the air dam isless than approximately three-quarters of a height of the raised floorsupply air plenum. The offset and height may be determined or positionedto create a generally even positive pressure across the raised floor.

Finally, step 810, if any configuration or component of the datacenteris altered, or the performance of the datacenter ventilation iscompromised or not optimized, the orientation or height of the air dammay be repositioned or altered such that the air flow pattern throughthe under raised floor supply air plenum may be controlled. If the airdam is locked, the air dam may be unlocked and moved to a new positionedby rotating, leveling, raising, lowering, etc. the projection of the airdam obstruction into the air plenum space. The air dam may be relockedto retain the air dam in a new desired position and/or orientation.

While some specific embodiments of the design have been shown, thedesign is not to be limited to these embodiments. For example, the airdam is shown and described as incorporated into an under floor airdistribution system for use in datacenters. Other air distribution andinjection systems may equally benefit from embodiments as describedherein, including injection through perforated ceiling tiles, ordirected ventilation using pipes or conduits. Other applicationsrequiring even air circulation may also benefit of embodiments describedherein, which are not only beneficial to datacenter applications. Thedesign is to be understood as not limited by the specific embodimentsdescribed herein, but only by the scope of the appended claims.Moreover, specific components and various embodiments have been shownand described. It should be understood that the invention covers anycombination, sub-combination, or re-combination, including duplicatingcomponents, subtracting components, combination components, integratingcomponents, separating components, and/or dividing components.

The terms “approximately” and “about” are used interchangeably toindicate that the disclosed and suggested values do not require exactprecision. The relative inclusions of values around each value dependson the error in building, manufacturing, and installing the components,as is generally practiced by a person of skill in the art. Even withoutthe specific identification of approximation (i.e. the term “about” or“approximate”), all of the dimensions disclosed are exemplary only andinclude equivalent or approximate values to the stated value to achievesimilar, equal, or better benefits or effects to those of the discloseddimensions. “Majority” is understood to be more than 50% of the floorarea, while “substantial” is understood to be at least more than 75% ofthe floor and preferably more than 85% of the floor area.

What is claimed is:
 1. A datacenter, comprising: a cooling systemconfigured to cool computing systems including servers and storagedevices housed in hot and cool zones of the datacenter, as well asrouters and switches that transport data between the servers andcomputers exterior to the datacenter; a supply-air plenum between anexterior wall and an interior wall of the datacenter fluidly connectedto the cooling system; an under-floor plenum between a raised floor anda bottommost floor of the datacenter fluidly connected to the supply-airplenum, wherein the under-floor plenum is coextensive with an area ofthe raised floor, and the raised floor includes tiles including aplurality of perforations configured to permit air from the coolingsystem to enter the datacenter from the under-floor plenum; and anactuatable air dam extending from the bottommost floor along a length ofthe under-floor plenum configured to obstruct a flow of incoming airfrom the supply-air plenum causing the air to slow down for a constantair flow through the plurality of perforations of the raised floor,wherein the air dam is positioned in a transition region between thesupply-air plenum and the under-floor plenum, the air dam offset towardan interior of the datacenter from the interior wall of the datacenterby less than half a width of the supply-air plenum as measured betweenthe exterior wall and the interior wall.
 2. The datacenter of claim 1,wherein the bottommost floor is one or more slabs of a foundation, theair dam fixed to the foundation by an actuator configured to actuate theair dam from at least a 45° angle of the air dam to the bottommost floorto no more than a 135° angle of the air dam to the bottommost floor. 3.The datacenter of claim 1, wherein the air dam extending along thelength of the under-floor plenum extends along an entire length of theunder-floor plenum from one side of the datacenter to an opposing sideof the datacenter.
 4. The datacenter of claim 1, wherein the air dam isrectangular in cross section.
 5. The datacenter of claim 1, wherein theair dam is triangular in cross section.
 6. The datacenter of claim 1,wherein the air dam is offset toward the interior of the datacenter fromthe interior wall of the datacenter by at least 25% of the width of thesupply-air plenum between the exterior wall and the interior wall. 7.The datacenter of claim 1, wherein the air dam is configured to obstructthe flow of incoming air from the supply-air plenum by passing the airthrough an opening between a top of the air dam and a bottom of theraised floor.
 8. The datacenter of claim 1, wherein a height of the airdam is between about 40% and 60% of a height of the under floor plenum.9. The datacenter of claim 1, wherein the air dam is further configuredto induce a turbulent air flow to the flow of incoming air entering theunder-floor plenum for the constant air flow through the plurality ofperforations of the raised floor.
 10. The datacenter of claim 1, whereinthe cooling system includes one or more rooftop-mounted heating,ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”) units.
 11. A datacenter,comprising: a cooling system configured to cool computing systemsincluding servers and storage devices housed in hot and cool zones ofthe datacenter, as well as routers and switches that transport databetween the servers and computers exterior to the datacenter; asupply-air plenum between an exterior wall and an interior wall of thedatacenter fluidly connected to the cooling system; an under-floorplenum between a raised floor and a bottommost floor of the datacenterfluidly connected to the supply-air plenum, wherein the under-floorplenum is coextensive with an area of the raised floor, and the raisedfloor includes tiles including a plurality of perforations configured topermit air from the cooling system to enter the datacenter from theunder-floor plenum; and an actuatable air dam extending from thebottommost floor along a length of the under-floor plenum configured toobstruct a flow of incoming air from the supply-air plenum causing theair to slow down for a constant air flow through the plurality ofperforations of the raised floor, wherein the tiles of the raised floorinclude one or more patterns in the plurality of perforations, the oneor more patterns including a pattern of consolidated perforationspermitting the air to pass into the cool zones of the datacenter andrelatively fewer perforations permitting the air to pass into the hotzones of the datacenter, wherein an air pressure of the air across theraised floor of the datacenter is 0.06 to 0.07 inches water.
 12. Thedatacenter of claim 11, wherein the cool zones have a width of 4 feet orless, and the hot zones have a width of 3 feet or less.
 13. A method ofventilating a datacenter, comprising: directing air from a coolingsystem through the datacenter to cool computing systems includingservers and storage devices housed in hot and cool zones of thedatacenter, as well as routers and switches that transport data betweenthe servers and computers exterior to the datacenter, wherein directingthe air from the cooling system includes directing the air into asupply-air plenum between an exterior wall and an interior wall of thedatacenter, directing the air over an actuatable air dam and into anunder-floor plenum between a raised floor and a bottommost floor of thedatacenter, directing the air through tiles of the raised floorincluding a plurality of perforations configured to permit the air fromthe cooling system to enter the datacenter from the under-floor plenum,wherein the under-floor plenum is coextensive with an area of the raisedfloor, wherein the air dam extends from the bottommost floor along alength of the under-floor plenum obstructing a flow of the air from thesupply-air plenum and causing the air to slow down for a constant airflow through the plurality of perforations of the raised floor, andpositioning the air dam in a transition region between the supply-airplenum and the under-floor plenum with an offset toward an interior ofthe datacenter from the interior wall of the datacenter by less thanhalf a width of the supply-air plenum as measured between the exteriorwall and the interior wall.
 14. The method of ventilating the datacenterof claim 13, wherein the offset toward the interior of the datacenterfrom the interior wall of the datacenter is at least 25% of the width ofthe supply-air plenum between the exterior wall and the interior wall.15. The method of ventilating the datacenter of claim 13, furthercomprising: actuating the air dam to have an angle from at least a 45°angle of the air dam to the bottommost floor to no more than a 135°angle of the air dam to the bottommost floor, wherein the bottommostfloor is one or more slabs of a foundation, the air dam fixed to thefoundation by an actuator configured to actuate the air dam between the45° angle and the 135° angle.
 16. The method of ventilating thedatacenter of claim 13, wherein obstructing the flow of the air from thesupply-air plenum includes passing the air through an opening between atop of the air dam and a bottom of the raised floor.